I made an observation and sketch of Jupiter under poor and deteriorating conditions the other night. I probably wouldn't have bothered sketching except my last Jupiter observation was way back in February.

I used 2B and HB pencils for the sketch. I also turned it over and flipped it to give the south up west to the left view. The sketch was difficult because I'm so out of practice on Jupiter. Hope to get more practice soon.

This is a fine sketch. Your observatory is pretty far from your house but it was certainly the temperature difference that was messing with your view. We put up with much more in winter to get out and sketch.Getting out there and trying is half the "fun".My hat is off to you. All in all this is a very fine sketch.

Michael,I admire your dedication. -20F is quite cold. I like the festoon you caught. Did the W#11 help detect it? I still think the sketch is quite good, as it shows your view at the eyepiece which is really why we all sketch. We are not in this for the artwork although some sketches in the forum are very beautiful, it's what we observe that makes sketching so special to me. I am happy you shared even your poor view. Mine is the poorest tonight with rain melting the snow and slush everywhere.

Micheal, I commented in your other thread. But some comments above bear repeating.

Getting out there and trying is half the "fun".

Frank is half right, it's most of the fun.

There is plenty here to enjoy, especially considering the difficulty of the seeing (something I am oh so accustomed to).

That's true. Often I feel guilty as much as blessed with good seeing. I wish I could control the weather (and the stock market), I'd share some good seeing with each of you. Or maybe not, it's easy to get spoiled to the point when seeing is not so good, you give up. That happens to me, I was "crying" (to Pete, offline) about the seeing here not being as good as my previous location. I was ready to sell my scope at one point and throw in the towel. So, being spoiled is not a good thing, even though it is a blessing. In the end, I told Pete I would just have to observe through it if we are to enjoy our hobby. That's what you did, for that my hat is tipped.

We are not in this for the artwork although some sketches in the forum are very beautiful, it's what we observe that makes sketching so special to me.

BINGO! Sketching allows us to share our views, and that's so nice to do. But it's the view itself that inspires everything. Nothing wrong with trying to get the sketch exactly right when the view warrants it, but in the end it's the personal look that is the meat and potatoes of what we do. We're sight seers, really, not unlike those who recreational scuba dive or stare into the grand canyon. Little can do the actual view justice and often our sightseeing is so dependent on the weather, like a dive in horrible visibility or a sparkling clear ocean.

Edit: To drive home Ken's point, it was the views that started me sketching in the first place and not the other way around.

Very nice Jupiter sketch despite the conditions , congrads on your S.T. article , hopefully I can get some observing time during winter break, Jup is certainly high enough in the sky around midnight to get some outstanding views.

Thank you all for the comments. I really appreciate the fellowship here in the Sketching forum.

Jason, Ken, and T5, thank you and glad you liked the article. If you gleaned some tips from it all the better. I learn stuff from folks here all the time.

@ Ken--the temperature was 20°F not negative twenty. I'm not that dedicated.

There is a lot of talent out there doing astrosketching and some of it is incredibly well done. That said, sketching is as varied as the people doing it. For those who say, "I can't sketch--I can't even draw a stick figure.", we want them to understand that observational sketching doesn't have to be art to be good. I tried in my article to make the point that sketching is accessible to all.

One last thing. David said he recognized the effects of poor seeing when he saw it because our styles are similar. Something I love about sketching is the different style that everyone develops. They can have similarities (because we learn from one another) but they are all individualized. I can look at some drawings and instantly recognize who did it because of their distinctive style.